Woman on mission to preserve legacy of those who served in D-Day
By Conor McGill
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TUCSON, Arizona (KVOA) — Today marks exactly 80 years since D-Day, the largest invasion by air, land, and sea in history.
Making sure that day is never forgotten, Jean Tucker a daughter of a revered 299th officer from D-Day.
Jean is now on a mission to preserve the memories of her father and others who served.
“I have a binder full of pages of all of the stories of landing on the beaches, going through the war, everything, so I’m going to be transcribing those,” Jean Tucker said.
Pieces of history fill the walls of Jean’s Tucson home. Memories of her late father James who served in one of the most critical operations in our country’s history.
“He didn’t gloat,” Jean said. “It was a very somber thing to him because he had seen basically hell and anybody who served during that time their wish was that their loved ones and loved ones and children to come would never have to experience that.”
James was a part of the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion. The unit was in charge of eight armored bulldozers. The battalion’s job, clear invasion paths through the network of German-built beach obstacles.
It was no easy task, 4,414 allied troops were lost on D-day, and James was one of the lucky ones to make it out alive.
“My father always wondered why he did,” Jean said. “So for me, I get emotional thinking about it, but maybe one of the reasons is so I could do this work.”
Preserving the history of her father and others. Making sure the sacrifice once put on the line is never forgotten.
“Our history is precious, it’s not only something we learn from but it’s something we realize we are connected to,” Jean said.
Her work is far from over, as she works to uncover more from that devastating day.
For more on her mission, visit: 299thcombatengineers.com
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